OCTOBER DEVOTION: UNDERSTANDING THE MARIAN TITLES IN THE LITANY OF LORETO (PART 2) – DAY 15: “QUEEN OF ALL SAINTS” (REGINA SANCTORUM OMNIUM)

DAY 15 PRAYER INTENTION: Today, pray for all those who inflict pain on others, and all those who have wronged many others too. May they receive graces from Our Lady, Mother Most Amiable, repent from their evil ways and seek reconciliation. Amen (Also add your own intention…)

Now, say the 20 decades of the Rosary…

At the end of the 20 decades, say the following Prayers:

Hail Holy Queen

Hail, holy Queen, mother of mercy, our life, our sweetness, and our hope. To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve. To thee do we send up our sighs mourning and weeping in this valley of tears. Turn then, most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us, and after this our exile show us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus. O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary!
Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray

O God, whose only begotten Son, by His life, death, and resurrection, has purchased for us the rewards of eternal salvation. Grant, we beseech Thee, that while meditating on these mysteries of the most Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we may imitate what they contain and obtain what they promise, through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us! Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us! St. Joseph, pray for us!

Litany of Loreto

Lord have mercy.
Christ have mercy.
Lord have mercy.
Christ hear us.
Christ graciously hear us.

God, the Father of heaven,
have mercy on us (Repeat after each invocation)

God the Son, Redeemer of the world,
God the Holy Spirit,
Holy Trinity, one God,

Holy Mary,
pray for us (Repeat after each invocation)
Holy Mother of God,
Holy Virgin of virgins,
Mother of Christ,
Mother of the Church,
Mother of Mercy,
Mother of divine grace,
Mother of Hope,
Mother most pure,
Mother most chaste,
Mother inviolate,
Mother undefiled,
Mother most amiable,
Mother most admirable,
Mother of good counsel,
Mother of our Creator,
Mother of our Saviour,
Virgin most prudent,
Virgin most venerable,
Virgin most renowned,
Virgin most powerful,
Virgin most merciful,
Virgin most faithful,
Mirror of justice,
Seat of wisdom,
Cause of our joy,
Spiritual vessel,
Vessel of honour,
Singular vessel of devotion,
Mystical rose,
Tower of David,
Tower if ivory,
House of gold,
Ark of the covenant,
Gate of heaven,
Morning star,
Health of the sick,
Refuge of sinners,
Solace of Migrants,
Comfort of the afflicted,
Help of Christians,
Queen of Angels,
Queen of Patriarchs,
Queen of Prophets,
Queen of Apostles,
Queen of Martyrs,
Queen of Confessors,
Queen of Virgins,
Queen of all Saints,
Queen conceived without original sin,
Queen assumed into heaven,
Queen of the most Holy Rosary,
Queen of families,
Queen of peace.

Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world,
spare us, O Lord.

Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world,
graciously hear us, O Lord.

Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world,
have mercy on us.

Pray for us, O holy Mother of God.
That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray
Grant, we beseech thee, O Lord God, that we, your servants, may enjoy perpetual health of mind and body;
and by the glorious intercession of the Blessed Mary, ever Virgin, may be delivered from present sorrow, and obtain eternal joy. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Memorare

Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thine intercession was left unaided. Inspired by this confidence, I fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins, my mother; to thee do I come, before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in thy mercy hear and answer me.

Prayer to Saint Joseph after the Rosary

To you, O Blessed Joseph, we come in our trials, and having asked the help of your most holy spouse, we confidently ask your patronage also. Through that sacred bond of charity which united you to the Immaculate Virgin Mother of God and through the fatherly love with which you embraced the Child Jesus, we humbly beg you to look graciously upon the beloved inheritance which Jesus Christ purchased by his blood, and to aid us in our necessities with your power and strength.

O most provident guardian of the Holy Family, defend the chosen children of Jesus Christ. Most beloved father, dispel the evil of falsehood and sin. Our most mighty protector, graciously assist us from heaven in our struggle with the powers of darkness. And just as you once saved the Child Jesus from mortal danger, so now defend God’s Holy Church from the snares of her enemies and from all adversity. Shield each one of us by your constant protection, so that, supported by your example and your help, we may be able to live a virtuous life, die a holy death, and obtain eternal happiness in heaven. Amen.

Prayer to Saint Michael the Archangel

St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle, be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him we humbly pray; and do thou, O Prince of the Heavenly host, by the power of God, cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.

DAY 15 REFLECTION: “QUEEN OF ALL SAINTS” (REGINA SANCTORUM OMNIUM)

The eighth of the twelve invocations of Mary as “Queen” praises her as “Queen of all Saints” (Latin, Regina Sanctorum omnium), which (somehow), in the past, summed up the invocations contained in the Litany, until few other titles were added. Put in other words, after the apostles, martyrs, confessors of the faith, and virgins, the Church honours the Blessed Virgin Mary as the queen of all those who lived an exemplary life of configuration to Christ: the saints. Holiness is this: live like Jesus lived – love like Jesus loved, feel what Jesus felt, smile like Jesus smiled, etc., ” It is possible to repeat the words of the apostle Paul: “It is no longer I who live; it is Christ who lives in me ”(Gal. 2:20). This was not different with the Blessed Virgin Mary whose exemplary life obtained for her the “queenship” title and model for all those who follow the footstep her beloved Son, Jesus Christ. In her life of holiness, she became more and more like her Son, our Lord Jesus Christ; to her, it was indeed a unique case. Therefore, today, being the fifteenth day of our October Devotion, we shall briefly contemplate this title – “Queen of all Saints.”

We cannot deny that Mary is called Queen in the Church’s Tradition – in Eastertide, we pray “Regina Caeli,” at the end of the Rosary we say “Salve Regina”; even the very litany expresses Mary’s reign twelve times as queen. If the angels see her as their queen, and likewise, the glorious company of the patriarchs, prophets, apostles, martyrs, confessors, virgins, etc., all honour her as their queen; then, obviously, she becomes the “Queen of all Saints,” because the word “saint” comes from the Latin “Sanctus” and literally means “holy.” In the New Testament, the term “saint” is broadly used to refer to all who believe in Jesus Christ and who follow His teachings. Saint Paul often addresses his epistles to “the Saints” of a particular city (see, for instance, Ephesians 1:1 and 2 Corinthians 1:1). However, with time, it became clear that some Christians lived lives of extraordinary, or heroic, virtue, beyond that of the average Christian believer; these particular Christians were eminent examples of the moral virtues (or cardinal virtues), and they practised the theological virtues of faith, hope, and charity and exhibited the gifts of the Holy Spirit in their lives. Consequently, the word saint (that was previously applied to all Christian believers) now became more narrowly applied to such people, with the belief that they are being rewarded in heaven. Of these holy (saintly) people, the great Mother of God is honoured as Queen. The royalty of Mary is founded on her intimate and singular union with God.

Invoking the Blessed Virgin Mary as “Queen of all Saints” encircles her queenship role as “Queen of heaven and earth.” Earlier in 1954, Pope Pius XII originally designated May 31 as a Marian feast day to celebrate the Queenship of Mary; later, the Second Vatican Council chose August 22 as the date to commemorate Mary specifically under the title “Queen of All Saints,” as a festive prolongation of the Feast of Mary’s Assumption. Mary is sometimes likened to the moon among lesser stars (“Velut inter stellas luna minores”), meaning that she is the greatest among lesser saints, exceeding all other saints in holiness.

The Blessed Virgin Mary is called the Queen of All Saints because she made the most diligent use of the rich treasure of grace given to her by God and excelled in every virtue much more than every other saint; needless to say, all the other saints call her “Blessed,” because she is superior to them. If our Lord Jesus Christ is the embodiment of all perfections and holiness, then, the Blessed Virgin Mary, through whom He came into the world in the flesh must equally bear the same trait, for “a bad tree cannot produce good fruits” (cf. Mat. 7:18) – Jesus is the Blessed fruit of the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary (cf. Luke. 1:42). Thus, all the traits of Jesus were expressed in her as faithfully as they could be expressed in any creature. As she surpasses all saints in choosing a virtuous and meritorious life, so Mary stands higher than all the faithful in receiving glory and reward.  After God, there is no greater bliss for the blessed in heaven than to behold her, their glorious Queen. The popular hymn: “I’ll sing a hymn to Mary…” expresses this reality perfectly: “The saints are high in glory, with golden crowns so bright; but brighter far is Mary, upon her throne of light. Oh, that which God did give thee, let mortal ne’er disclaim; when wicked men blaspheme thee, I’ll love and bless thy name.”

Dear friends in Christ, let us continue to pray to the “Queen of All Saints” for the grace to remember that God has created us to live a life of holiness in this world and to become saints in heaven.  God will give us enough grace to do this if only we have an earnest desire for holiness just as Mary did.  Holiness does not consist in heroic deeds, but in doing the will of God perfectly, loving God with all our heart and our neighbour for God’s sake, keeping our soul from sin, and being united with God through prayer and the Sacraments.  May by invoking her as “Queen of all Saints,” may she obtain for us the grace to imitate her holiness in this present life and to be happy with God (the source of all holiness) forever in His Kingdom of love, happiness and peace. Amen

Let Us Pray
O God, you exalted the Blessed Virgin Mary above the saints as queen because of the singular privilege of being the Mother of Your Son. Grant, we pray, that imitating her virtues and invoking her prayers, we may be counted among the saints who rejoice in the queenship of Mary. Amen